Aga Muhlach's Congress bid in danger

Aga Muhlach's Congress bid in danger

Rep. Fuentebella (center) and Commissioners Yusoph and Tagle

Actor Aga Muhlach's candidacy for congressman of the Fourth District of Camarines Sur is in danger--real danger.

A newcomer and a non-politician before, Muhlach is facing the powerhouse political dynasty of incumbent congressman Arnulfo "Noli" Fuentebella.

The patriarch Fuentebella is serving his third and final term as congressman and their dynasty is pitting his son, Felix "Wimpy" Fuentebella to run for the 2013 elections.

So that it is a battle between a powerhouse political family and a tremendous popularity developed over time by Muhlach, perhaps the only actor that has kept a very clean image in terms of moral fitness.

This innate power packed in the person of Muhlach alarmed the dynasty.

Fuentebella has formed a "powerhouse" legal team to disqualify Aga, claiming that the former matinee idol has not even voted in any election in the past and that he is not a resident of the town of San Jose in Camarines Sur.

They also alleged that Muhlach's father is a Spanish citizen.

The first attempt to disqualify Muhlach was when Fuentebella's legal team questioned before the Election Registration Board of San the application of the actor to register as a voter.  The Board approved the same, however.

Desperate, the Fuentebella family through a person named Gil Pacamara filed a petition for disqualification of the certificate of candidacy of Muhlach before the Commission on Elections.

The hearing for the disqualification case has been held and it was attended by the actor and his lawyer Romulo Macalintal.

However, unknown to Muhlach, Congressman Fuentebella had a lunch date last October 10 with two Comelec Commissioners, Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle, at a Japanese restaurant inside Diamond Hotel on Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila.

Jerry Yap, a columnist and publisher of Hataw daily newspaper, happened to be eating in the same restaurant when he saw Fuentebella eating and talking with the two commissioners.

Nevertheless, Yap took pictures of the fearsome threesome, sensing something improper was taking place because he already knew that Muhlach filed his candidacy against the son of Fuentebella in Camarines Sur.

Aksyon 5 reported that in an interview with reporters Muhlach insisted he is a Filipino and that his father hails from Camarines Sur.
"Taga doon ako at kung may tutulungan ako dun sa pinanggalingan ng tatay ko," Aksyon 5 quoted Muhlach as saying, adding:

"Ito pala yung sinasabi ng mga kaibigan ko. Guguluhin ka talaga ng kalaban. I was expecting this but I didn't expect it to be like this."

Aksyon 5 quoted Macalintal as saying: "I'm very confident (of Aga's position) because he is a natural born Filipino citizen whose parents are both Filipino. He has not acquired any foreign citizenship nor did he renounce his Filipino citizenship."